Time for tears! Shrimpers sink into non-league football

Time for tears! Shrimpers sink into non-league football

With all the talk of super leagues and the like, it is easy to overlook the clubs fighting for survival at the other end of the spectrum.

One such club is Southend United who after 101 years in the Football League were relegated from League Two last week despite a spirited 2-1 away win at Barrow.

Although having spent a century in the Football League, the club known as the "Shrimpers" or the "Blues," never hit the heights.

However, they became a familiar name in the lower divisions and next season's results won't seem quite the same without their presence.

Manager Phil Brown, who had been brought back to the club for the last six games in a desperate bid to fight the drop, was naturally disappointed but put on a brave face saying it's "no time for tears."

However, Brown, who enjoyed five successful years managing Southend from 2013-18, could not hide his frustration.

"I left the club knocking at the door of the Championship and now we are in the fifth tier, which is a sobering thought," he said.

To make matters worse, it was Southend's second successive relegation.

The Shrimpers had looked in deep trouble from the start of the season, picking up just two points from their first 11 games under manager Mark Molesley, who had taken over from Sol Campbell.

They were not helped by a transfer embargo following unpaid taxes.

Despite a brief revival over Christmas, things did not improve as the season wore on.

Matters were not helped when club chairman Ron Martin publicly criticised players for their performances.

With relegation looming, the club sacked Molesley and brought in Brown for the last six games.

But despite improved results, he did not have enough time to turn things around.

A crucial defeat by relegation rivals Colchester United was the nail in the coffin.

Losing to Colchester hurt even more as their matches have become known as the "Essex derby" and the games are always fiercely contested.

Naturally, the Southend fans have had a fair bit to say about the situation, one tweeting "Heartbroken…the pain I've felt today will last with me forever.''

Another announced: "I now support a non-league club."

Many fans blame chairman Martin for the club's decline, claiming bad decision-making, leading to financial difficulties.

"Years of shambolic management from top to bottom," was how one supporter saw it.

The club was founded in 1906 at the Blue Boar pub and played their first games at Roots Hall field just across the road.

After joining the Football League in 1920, they spent an amazing 44 years in Division Three before being relegated to the Fourth Division in 1966.

For a further two decades, they drifted between the third and fourth tiers.

Some of the few highlights came from Scottish striker Billy Best who scored an impressive 106 goals in 226 appearances between 1968-73.

In 1991, Southend were promoted to the old Second Division and survived for six years.

It was during this time they were briefly joined by one of their most famous players, Stan Collymore, who banged in 15 goals in 30 matches during the 1992-3 season.

Collymore later commented: "Helping to keep Southend in that division was one of my finest achievements."

The high point in the club's history was winning the League One title and being promoted to the Championship in 2001, although they only survived one season.

Another memorable moment came in November 2006 when in the League Cup they notched a 1-0 victory over a Manchester United team that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Since 1954, Southend have played at Roots Hall Stadium which originally had a capacity of 35,000, now reduced to 12,500 for safety reasons.

Their biggest attendance was 31,000 when they played Liverpool in the FA Cup third round in January 1979.

The pain is not quite over for Southend as today they still have to play one more game, against Newport County. But Brown is determined to go out on a high note, telling the Southend Echo: "Our priority is to go for a third win in a row."

There could well be a few tears at Roots Hall today. Fans hope they will turn to cheers when the Shrimpers make their debut in the National League next season.

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